Fly Away on Wings of Wind
by Krasavitsa
Summary: "Lithuania, are we...are we going to be okay?" Latvia wrung his hands, forcing himself to ignore the Russian lying on the floor. / When a nuclear bomb explodes over Leningrad, Russia and the Baltics must stay in a fallout shelter to survive.
1. Chapter 1

_**Note: St. Petersburg is referred to as Leningrad in this story. I don't own Hetalia.**_

* * *

It was almost dusk in cold Leningrad, and Lithuania drew the curtains in the Baltics' bedroom and turned on a lamp that rested on a table next to the window. After lighting a fire in the fireplace, Lithuania turned and left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Little did he know that he would never see that room again.

A dull roar from outside snapped Lithuania out of his reverie. "L-latvia, was that you?" he yelled shakily, voice echoing through the enormous house.

No answer.

"Wh-what was that noise?" The only response was another roar that sounded like the engines of airplanes. A window broke, letting in a blast of freezing wind. Then a siren that he had never heard before went off, blaring with shrill, swooping wails.

"Šūdas," Lithuania cursed. He rushed through the empty halls and into a room where a large radio stood imposingly on the floor. With trembling fingers, he quickly turned the dial on the radio until he found the Soviet broadcasting station. Leaning in closer to listen, he heard only static.

"Come on, come on," he murmured, clasping his hands together nervously. The swooping siren got louder outside, but Lithuania heard a tinny sound come out of the radio. Maybe that could tell him what the hell was going on.

On the radio, a muffled-sounding orchestra was playing the Soviet national anthem. "_Everything is fine,_" a deep Russian voice said every few seconds.

"Šūdas!" Lithuania yelled for the second time today. A small head peeked into the room - Latvia. He was crying, face scrunched up with confusion.

"Lithuania, wh-what's going on? There's a scary noise, and you y-yelled, and-"

"Stupid Soviet propaganda!" Lithuania shouted at the radio. Latvia jumped back in surprise, and Lithuania instantly felt remorseful. "Oh, I'm s-sorry, Latvia, it's just that I don't know what's going on either, and I'm...I'm scared, too."

The roar got louder. Both Baltics glanced at each other. "L-lithuania-" Latvia began.

Lithuania held up a hand. "Shhh!" He grabbed the radio dial again, fingers fumbling slightly, and turned it to the BBC station. He bent his head close to the radio in time to hear a British voice emerge from the static, speaking frantically.

"_The United States has fired a nuclear bomb at the Soviet Union. I repeat, the United States has fired a nuclear bomb at the Soviet Union. Prepare for immediate nuclear war!"_

Lithuania slumped against the radio, ghostly pale. "_O Dieve mano_!"

Latvia collapsed to the floor, sobbing. "Wh-what are we going to do?" he wailed.

"What are we going to do? I-I don't know! How would _I _know?" Lithuania snapped the radio off. "We...we need to get to a fallout shelter. But is there even one in this house?"

"Y-yes, there is!" Latvia said. He stood up to meet Lithuania's panicked eyes.

"There is? Where?"

"I-in the basement," Latvia said. The noise outside got louder, so the Latvian had to yell to be heard. "In a small room, where R-russia took me once to th-threaten me."

"Russia did _wh-what? _Oh, who even cares?" Lithuania walked over to Latvia on shaky legs and put both hands on his shoulders. "Okay, Latvia, I want you to go get Estonia, and bring him to the f-fallout shelter." His voice cracked on the words _fallout shelter_, and he wiped some tears from his eyes. "Latvia, if anything h-happens to me-"

Latvia looked up at Lithuania in surprise. "If anything _happens_ to you? Lithuania, wh-what do you think is going to happen?"

"I just-"

"A-aren't you coming with me to get Estonia?"

"_N-ne_," Lithuania said firmly. "I am going to get Russia, to take him to the fallout shelter."

Latvia burst into tears, incredulous. "You're going to save _R-russia_? Why?"

Lithuania began to answer, but was interrupted by the siren, which had stopped its wailing and was now emitting shrill bursts of sound. "This is bad, this is really bad," he muttered, and rushed off, leaving a stricken Latvia behind.

"C-come back," Latvia murmured mournfully. He listened to the siren for a moment, sighed, then ran as fast as he could to the kitchen, where he knew Estonia was cooking dinner.

* * *

Lithuania hurried through the hallways, mentally cursing Russia's house for being so big. He panted as he ran, trying frantically to go faster than he ever had before. The siren increased in volume as Lithuania approached a shut door - Russia's room.

Lithuania tried the door; it was locked. Heart racing with alarm, he banged on the door with all his might. "Lithuania?" a Russian-accented voice asked. The door opened from the inside, and the Lithuanian fell into the room with a shriek.

The siren was fainter here, yet still audible. Lithuania could have sworn that the house was shaking...or was that him? He looked up to find Russia staring down at him with a panicked look in his eyes. "Wh-what-?" Lithuania stuttered.

Russia seized Lithuania's arm and roughly pulled him up to a standing position. The Russian was sweating profusely, and his face was pale. "Lithuania, you've got to help me," he said desperately.

Lithuania tried to speak, but words wouldn't come out of his mouth. Russia paced the room in a panic. "There...there's something wrong in my country," he said, near to tears. "I can feel it - like something bad's about to happen."

The curtains on Russia's window were flying every which way, and the glass on the window had cracked, letting in a freezing wind. Quickly snapping his eyes away from the window, Lithuania sobbed, "America is going to bomb us! We have to get to a fallout shelter!"

Russia stepped back in shock. "You mean..." His face paled. "America-" He swayed.

Lithuania nodded panickedly. "Yes, and we have to get to safety!" He grabbed Russia's arm and tried to pull the large country out of the room. "Come _on_!"

Russia brushed Lithuania's hand off. His eyes were glazed. "It's no use," he said simply. "My country has been attacked. I will feel the pain no matter where I am."

Lithuania shook his head in frustration. "B-but you _have_ to come! Just because we are nations doesn't mean that we won't be _incinerated _if we don't seek safety."

But Russia was looking off into the distance, not listening. "My...my people," he murmured. "Most of them will die..."

"Russia…"

"How dare America do this to me? How _dare _he?"

"Russia, p-please…"

Russia snapped his head around to face Lithuania. "Be quiet!" he yelled. Lithuania shut his mouth and trembled.

Russia sat on his bed and looked out his window, squinting due to the freezing wind that blew in through the crack. The roar of the plane engines was nearly almost overhead, and the siren was blaring at full volume. He sighed and mumbled something that sounded almost like a prayer under his breath.

Lithuania was shaking with panic. A nuclear bomb was about to explode, and here he was stuck in Russia's room! "RUSSIA, _NOW_!" He seized Russia's arm and yanked him off the bed, grunting a little from the effort. With his other arm, he slapped the Russian across the face.

Russia's eyes opened wide, and he looked curiously at Lithuania. "Huh?" he said. But then he glanced outside to see trees toppling over, bent by the monstrous wind. The head of a bronze Lenin statue blew across the yard.

It was as if a fire had been lit underneath the Russian. "Come _on_, Litva, what are you waiting for?" he asked maniacally, then grabbed Lithuania's arm and tugged the surprised nation out of the room.

"Where...what-" Lithuania tried to say, but Russia was pulling him so fast that he couldn't catch his breath. The snow on the ground outside was shaking, everything was shaking, the siren was blaring, the roar was intense-

Russia and Lithuania sped towards the basement, yanking open the door and rushing towards a little room with an iron-plated trapdoor.

Finally catching his breath, Lithuania forced open the trapdoor and pushed Russia inside with trembling hands. Looking down, he could see that the fallout shelter was pitch black. "Latvia? Estonia? A-are you in there?"

Two shaky voices replied, "Y-yes."

Lithuania sighed with relief. "G-good. I'm coming d-" A brilliant flash of light illuminated the house, rendering Lithuania speechless. He covered his eyes with both hands to shield them. "Ohhhh…"

Below him, voices shrieked and yelled. Lithuania felt himself teetering on the edge of the shelter. The light was blinding, even through his hands. He had lost his balance, he was falling, falling, falling…

A hand grabbed his and yanked Lithuania into the dark fallout shelter. Lithuania fumbled around and found a long ladder, which he shakily climbed down. Someone - probably Estonia - slammed the trapdoor shut and secured it, and, with a crunch and a flash of light, the house above them was completely obliterated.

Russia screamed.

* * *

_**If you like the story so far, please review! :)**_

_**Translations:**_

_**Šūdas: Sh*t (Lithuanian)**_

_**O Dieve mano: Oh my god (Lithuanian)**_

_**Ne: No (Lithuanian)**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I don't own Hetalia.**_

* * *

Russia screeched once and toppled over, falling backwards with a horrible thump onto the cold concrete floor. Rolling around in agony, he screamed and screamed, loud cries echoing off the cinderblock walls. His breaths became shuddering and frantic, as if he was suffering the pain of millions of people at once.

The Baltics huddled underneath the entrance to the fallout shelter, eyes wide with horror. For an agonizing moment, Lithuania couldn't breathe. He just stood, shivering with fear, and stared fixedly off into the darkness.

Images raced through his mind of a demolished world - a nuclear wasteland like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where even the land was burnt and charred. _That's not what just happened, was it?_ He stifled a sob. _It couldn't be._

A hand softly touched his arm, and Lithuania jumped, startled. "L-latvia?"

Latvia looked up at Lithuania. His eyes were wet with tears, and he was trembling involuntarily. "Lithuania, are we...are we going to be okay?"

Caught off guard by Latvia's blunt question, Lithuania stumbled over his words. "Ah, I...I think so. I mean, we're all safe now, r-right?"

He glanced around at the other Baltics. Latvia was ghostly pale, and Estonia was shuffling his feet nervously and fidgeting with his glasses. Lithuania knew that he himself looked just as shaken as the others.

Latvia furrowed his brow. "I-I guess," he replied, and looked down at the floor.

Russia's screams became piercing and pleading, and Lithuania winced, trying not to listen to the horrible sound.

"L-lithuania?" Latvia mumbled softly after a while.

"Yes?"

"It's too dark and loud, and...and I'm h-hungry." The Latvian began to sob, pressing his head into Lithuania's shirt.

Lithuania felt like crying himself, but instead he put his arm around the Latvian. "Well, why don't we t-turn on a light and take a look around this p-place?" He had meant to say this light-heartedly, but it came out more shaky than he'd intended.

"O-okay." Latvia wiped his eyes, then took a breath. "Hey, m-maybe Estonia can come with us to help!" He looked over at Estonia, who was staring off in the direction of Russia's screams.

"That's a good idea," said Lithuania.

Latvia reached over and tapped Estonia on the shoulder. "Estonia, d-do you want to look around the b-bomb shelter with us?"

No response. The Estonian was immobile, looking down at the floor.

"E-estonia?" Latvia asked again tentatively. "Estonia, are you o-okay?"

* * *

Estonia stared down at the floor, trying to stop his clammy hands from trembling. _It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, _he thought to himself, but his repeated mantra didn't reassure him at all.

A nuclear bomb had just exploded! A _bomb!_ That meant death, destruction, sickness...and Estonia didn't dare think about the possibility of radioactive fallout. His hands balled into shaky fists. _No matter what has happened, the world will never be the same again._

Estonia felt an inner urge to just open his mouth and _scream! _He took a deep breath, and_-_

"AAAAAAHHH!" A pained voice bellowed from the center of the room, and Estonia jumped. Squinting in the darkness, he could just make out the crumpled figure of Russia with his mouth open, screeching and wailing.

A shiver went down Estonia's spine. Russia must be hurt beyond belief! It must be _torture _to have one's land and people almost completely destroyed. He shifted his feet and stared at the ground again, trying to drown out the nation's agonized wails.

The Estonian was beginning to feel very freaked out by this whole situation. He just wanted to be back upstairs in Russia's kitchen cooking borscht, or at least lying down in a quiet place with his hands over his ears. But no, he was in a freezing fallout shelter with the scariest person in the world lying on the floor screaming. What could be worse than that?

"E-estonia? Estonia, are you o-okay?" A tentative voice shattered him out of his thoughts. He sighed and looked down at Latvia, who was peering up at him worriedly.

"What?" he said, maybe a little ruder than he'd meant to. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now, not until he'd had some more time to process what was going on.

Latvia let out a breath in noticeable relief, completely disregarding Estonia's rudeness. "S-sorry, Estonia, but you didn't respond the first time I a-asked you, and I thought-"

Estonia sighed. "No, I'm fine, just...worried. What did you want to ask me?"

"W-well, Lithuania and I are going to l-look for food, and I was wondering if y-you wanted to come with us?"

Estonia rubbed his cold arms and shrugged; it was becoming clear that he wouldn't have any time to himself in this place. "Sure," he told the Latvian. _At least _that _will distract me from Russia. _He adjusted his glasses slightly and squinted in the dark. "We might want to turn on a light, though…"

His gaze fell on Latvia's face, which was drawn with worry and fear. _He needs something to do, something that will give him something else to think about. _"Hey, Latvia?" Estonia said.

Latvia shivered. "W-what?"

"M-maybe you could look for some flashlights or something, get some light in h-here?" Estonia smiled reassuringly at the young teen.

Latvia immediately perked up, although he still trembled a bit. "O-okay, I'll do that! You and L-lithuania can s-start looking around the shelter!"

"Alright. See you soon." Latvia ran off, and Estonia drew a deep, shuddering breath. Latvia was gone, and no matter how scared Estonia was, it was time to face the bomb shelter.

* * *

Estonia walked towards Lithuania, who was staring fixedly at the center of the room. "H-hey, Lithuania," said Estonia. "Latvia's getting some f-flashlights, so why don't w-we explore the room?"

The Lithuanian looked up from where he was standing. His face was pale and his legs were trembling, and he looked stricken. "W-what?" he asked, stuttering slightly.

"Ah, is there something wrong?" Estonia asked, immediately worried. There was definitely something off about the oldest Baltic.

Lithuania tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "N-no, nothing…but Russia's screams sure are loud, a-aren't they?"

A shiver went down Estonia's spine. "Y-yeah, they are. Why do you ask?"

Lithuania shuddered. "You don't happen to hear him screaming any...w-words, do you?"

"W-words? No…" But upon listening closer, Estonia could make out the sound of words, distorted as they were by Russia's wails.

"You hear them, right? I c-can't tell what he's saying, but I thought you could, m-maybe..." Lithuania shuffled his feet nervously.

"Huh, I'll try," said Estonia. Tilting his ear towards where Russia lay in the center of the dark room, he strained to hear individual words among the screams. At first, he could only make out a few sounds. "_Po…" "mne, Lit…"_

"I-It's in Russian," he grumbled in frustration. "If it were in Estonian, I'd be able to understand it better." After another moment of listening, Estonia found that Russia was repeating the same phrase over and over. "_Pomo…gite mne…L-"_

Both Baltics realized it at the same time. Lithuania stiffened and yelped softly, and Estonia felt a sudden burst of dread. "_P-pomogite mne, Litva _\- h-help me, Lithuania…" Lithuania murmured, his shaky voice almost inaudible. "He...h-he wants me to h-help him."

"Wh-why would he want you to do th-that?" Estonia asked nervously.

Lithuania wrung his hands. "I-I don't know! He always...preferred me, for some reason. But it's not like I _want_ to help h-him!"

"_LITVAAAAAAAA!" _Russia howled again, surprising Estonia, who stepped back in surprise at the sheer volume of the yell.

Lithuania shuddered. "But I h-have to do it," he muttered, as if convincing himself. "I can't just..._refuse_ to obey Russia. Who knows wh-what he'll do to us if I don't?"

Estonia felt horrible. He was in way over his head with this; he usually just tried to stay as far away from Russia as he could. "L-lithuania, I-I don't think you-"

Latvia scurried up to the two nations with an armful of flashlights. "I-I found some flashlights!" he said. "B-but I couldn't get much else b-because I didn't want to look a-alone." He paused, looking up at the older two Baltics. "Lithuania, I-I'm hungry. Can we p-please-"

"_LITVAAAAAAAA!_" Russia screeched again and kicked the floor a few times. All three Baltics jumped and immediately shook in fear.

Latvia began to wail. "I'm scaaaared!" he cried, running over to Lithuania for reassurance. But Lithuania stood still and didn't comfort the youngest Baltic.

"I...I have to h-help him, right?" he murmured. "He n-needs help. I can't just l-leave him there on the f-floor."

Latvia furrowed his brow, confused. "Who needs h-help?" he asked through his tears.

"R-Russia does," explained Estonia, voice quavering.

"But why-"

"I-I don't know! I have no idea what's going on," Estonia snapped, pushing his glasses further up on his nose.

Lithuania turned to face Estonia and put a trembling hand on his shoulder. "I-I know what's going on," he said softly. "Latvia, can I have a f-flashlight?"

Latvia shivered. "S-sure." He passed a flashlight to Lithuania, who turned it on, lighting up the gray fallout shelter and the Baltics' pale faces.

"I can't l-leave him there to s-suffer," Lithuania said, voice quaking. "And...e-even though he's hurt, he's s-still more powerful than any of u-us. I-I must go."

"D-don't go!" Latvia sobbed, reaching out towards Lithuania. "Don't l-leave us!"

Lithuania looked heartbroken. "Latvia, I p-promise-" his voice caught. "I p-promise I'll be b-back soon." He took a few steps into the black depths of the room, his flashlight shining a bright circle on the concrete floor. "I'm only going to the c-center of the room, you k-know."

"W-wait, Lithuania," called Estonia. "Just...be c-careful. Russia can be _v-very _unpredictable."

"I know. Believe me, I k-know."

Estonia and Latvia watched Lithuania's retreating figure. "Y-you know he's stupid to do this, right?" Estonia said to Latvia.

Latvia nodded silently, tears rolling down his face.

"Well, we might as well find something to eat," Estonia said, taking a flashlight from the pile and turning it on. "Who knows if Russia even _has _food in here." The two Baltics walked towards the wooden shelves that lined the walls of the shelter.

And Lithuania gasped as his flashlight shone on the Russian lying in the center of the room.

* * *

_**Translations:**_

_**Pomogite mne, Litva: Help me, Lithuania (Russian)**_

_**I have to say, thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! They really mean a lot to me. :)**_

_**These chapters take a long time to write, so I'm probably going to update at least every other week. But hopefully it'll be faster than that…**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Warning: This chapter is a bit gory at the beginning.**_

* * *

Russia lay on his back on the floor, pale hair plastered to his sweaty face. When the light from Lithuania's flashlight shone in his eyes, he made no move to look away. "_Litvaaa,"_ he rasped.

Shuddering, Lithuania knelt on the ground next to Russia, shining his flashlight on the Russian's body. His stomach heaved when he saw the hideous injuries, yet he couldn't pull his eyes away.

Russia was covered with burns. Bloody red blisters flecked his arms and legs, and angry raised scars had sprung up all over the his body. His skin was red and flaky, as if it had been sunburned.

Pressing a shaking hand to his mouth, Lithuania swallowed hard against the bile rising steadily in his throat. But he retched and the vomit spilled out in a rush, making a sick splattering sound on the ground.

Russia groaned and inched slightly away from the pool of vomit slowly spreading on the floor. Lithuania stood up and wiped his mouth with his hand, hot tears running down his face. _Why did he have to do this? _He was used to gruesome injuries from having to clean the other Baltics' wounds after Russia's "punishments", but this was nothing like he had ever seen before.

These burns were the injuries of the Russian people - radiation poisoning and flash burns all mixed into one. And...it was basically pointless for Lithuania to help Russia, because, as a country, he wouldn't heal until his citizens did.

Anger rose up inside Lithuania as he looked down at the prone Russian, trying not to throw up again. His hands balled into fists. _Why _should _he help him? It's not like Russia could do anything to him when he was this weak!_

He glanced over his shoulder and saw a flashlight bobbing on the other side of the room - Estonia and Latvia, looking around the fallout shelter. And here _he_ was, stuck tending the very nation who held him captive!

_Maybe he should walk away; escape. Get as far away as he could. _Lithuania snapped his eyes away from Russia's bloody burns and took a trembling step back, glancing nervously at the Russian. _Russia wouldn't notice...would he?_

_Yes. _A hand shot out before Lithuania could get any farther and grabbed his ankle roughly, rendering him immobile. "Stay," Russia's pained voice hissed, "or Estonia and Latvia will die."

* * *

_The fallout shelter smelled like mildew. _That's the first thing that went through Estonia's head as his flashlight illuminated a small, gray room with cinderblock walls and a concrete floor. Wooden shelves lined the walls, and two bunk beds with simple mattresses and blankets stood in a corner.

He wrinkled his nose, and his gaze fell on a little table and a couple of chairs that took up an area in the middle of the room slightly to the right of where Russia lay. The table was covered by a faded red tablecloth, and the chairs looked rickety and unstable. Estonia made up his mind never to sit in them.

A chain hung from the ceiling connected to a lightbulb, but when Estonia pulled it, he found that he had been right - there was no electricity in the bomb shelter. He knew it was because the bomb had severed all the power lines in the area, but he couldn't help feeling a small spasm of fear in his stomach. _Were they the only survivors? What had happened to the world outside?_

Shaking his head to clear it, Estonia moved on to the wooden shelves, Latvia trailing dutifully behind him. All the typical survival equipment was there - flashlights, batteries, a small radio - but something seemed a bit..._off_ about the shelves of food.

There was food there, of course - canned goods like fruit and soup, beans and rice, cereal and crackers - but Estonia had the strange impulse to check just to make sure. With a trembling finger, he began counting in Estonian. "_Üks, kaks, kolm…"_

_Something wasn't right. _Estonia squinted and looked closer at the food. His heart pounded in his chest, and he gripped his flashlight hard, knuckles turning white with the force of his grasp. _Of course there's enough food_, he thought. _Why wouldn't there be?_

But after counting two more times and doing the math in his head, there was no reason left for him to doubt what he saw - the food stocked on the shelves would only last four people about one month.

Estonia felt dizzy. His mind raced. _One month...that's barely enough time for the radiation dust in the air to settle! If our food runs out, there will be no escape, no way out except through the painful death of radiation poisoning-_ His breathing got faster; for some reason, he couldn't get enough air. There was this...terrible suffocating sensation that just wouldn't go away. _What will happen to us when there's no food? Will we...will we all die?_

Now Estonia was gasping for air, black spots dancing in front of his eyes as he took narrow, shuddering breaths. His hands went limp and the flashlight dropped to the ground, switching off as soon as it hit the floor. The room plunged into darkness other than the dim circle of light from Lithuania's flashlight.

_We could be dead in one month one month one month-_

A faint voice yelled, "Estonia! E-estonia!" Estonia turned clumsily towards the sound, but everything just seemed to blur together. He felt himself sway, clutching for something to hold on to but finding nothing but air...

* * *

A small hand grabbed his and pulled him down to the floor. Estonia sat on the cold ground, trembling and shivering, and the room eventually swam into focus.

Latvia stood peering down at him with worry in his eyes. "E-estonia," he stuttered, voice quaking.

Estonia glanced around, trying to get his bearings. He was half-sitting, half-lying next to the shelves of food, flashlight lying smashed beside him. His heart pounded _One month one month one month one month._

"Wh-what happened to you?" Latvia asked. "You...you were doing something with the food - c-counting it, maybe? And then you t-turned pale and s-started gasping and it was really, really s-scary!" His voice rose in pitch as he spoke.

Estonia sat up slowly. His heart was still beating much too quickly, but his breathing had slowed. "Did...did I p-pass out?" he asked, voice thick.

"N-no," said Latvia, "But you were a-about to, if you had been standing for j-just a second longer." Latvia sat down and gazed at Estonia with concern. "You d-don't usually...act like this, you know," he observed bluntly.

Estonia raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What do you mean - 'like this?'"

"W-well, it's like you h-had a panic attack or something. That's n-never happened to you before."

_How would Latvia know that? And why did he care? _Estonia shrugged and drew his brows together.

"Something m-must have been really wrong for you to a-almost pass out," Latvia continued, completely oblivious to Estonia's frowning expression.

"Yeah." Estonia shut his eyes for a moment. _Yes, something _is _wrong. Running out of food in one month? That's pretty bad. _He opened his eyes and sighed when he saw the inquisitive look on Latvia's face. He really didn't want to tell Latvia about the food; the young Baltic shouldn't have to worry himself with it right now.

"So, wh-what's wrong?" Latvia asked.

_Curse Latvia and his stupid blunt questions! _"Uh, just something about the fallout shelter," Estonia said without looking up. He pressed his palms into his eyes and sighed.

Latvia shivered; obviously Estonia didn't want to tell him. "Does L-lithuania know?"

"No." But Estonia probably _should _tell Lithuania. The oldest Baltic would definitely be able to come up with a solution in no time...or at least break the news to Latvia without making him have a heart attack.

Estonia stood up abruptly. "Latvia, you know what?" The room spun, and he held an arm out for balance before getting his bearings again.

"Wh-what?" Latvia asked, eyes widening in trepidation.

"I think I'll go tell Lithuania what's going on, and then h-he'll tell you! Got that?"

Latvia shook his head vigorously. "_N-nē_!" he yelled.

"Why not?" pleaded Estonia in frustration.

Latvia's face scrunched up, as if he was about to cry. "Because...b-because I want to go with y-you, and I w-want to know what's going on! Don't leave me by myself h-here, p-please!" he whined.

Estonia sighed. "Fine," he grumbled, "you can come with me. Just...d-don't pass out when you hear what I'm going to say."

"I w-won't, I promise!" said Latvia. He grabbed a flashlight and switched it on, pointing it in the direction of Russia and Lithuania. "Come on, E-estonia, _iesim_!"

* * *

Lithuania stood in a very precarious position, teetering and off-balance. Russia's large hand had gripped his ankle tightly and pulled his leg so much to the side that he could barely stand straight.

His face was pale and sweaty, and the Lithuanian shook uncontrollably. A nasty-looking stain from his vomit spread down the front of his green uniform, and on top of that, he had a horrible taste in his mouth.

Russia squeezed his ankle harder, fingernails cutting into his skin. Tears welled up in Lithuania's eyes. "R-russia, p-please-"

The Russian's clothes and body were caked with dried blood and he lay flat on the ground, but that didn't stop him from giggling, his laughter dark and sadistic. "_Nyet, Litva,_ you will stay with me forever and ever!"

Tears ran silently down Lithuania's face, and he tilted his head up in a hopeless attempt to stop them from falling. That was when Lithuania saw Estonia and Latvia approaching, their jaws dropped in stunned surprise.

Russia saw them, too.

* * *

_**Translations:**_

_**Litva: Lithuania (Russian)**_

_**Üks, kaks, kolm: One, two, three (Estonian)**_

_**Nē: No (Latvian)**_

_**Iesim: Let's go (Latvian)**_

_**Nyet: No (Russian)**_

_**Hehe, I wrote this faster than I thought I would! I hope you liked this chapter. All your reviews, follows, and favorites make me feel so happy!**_

_**And special thanks to my guest reviewers! I really loved reading your reviews, and as I can't reply to you through private messaging, I'm just going to have to thank you here. :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I'm so sorry for not updating in a while! One of my New Year's resolutions was actually to update more, so I'll try harder to do that next time. :) Anyways, I hope this new chapter will make up for the long wait!**_

* * *

Russia's skin burned as if it was going to peel off, tingling and itching uncontrollably. His stomach heaved with nausea, and the woozy Russian felt sick every time he tried to move. His barely conscious mind, fogged with pain, could only focus on one thing: his grip on Lithuania's ankle.

Lithuania was the only thing keeping Russia from losing his sanity. The trembling nation was his anchor, his only comfort in this horrible torture, and Russia was _never_ going to let this comfort go away, no matter what.

Pain shot through his outstretched arm, and the Russian screeched in agony. _When will the pain stop? What did I ever do to deserve this?_ Tears pooled in his eyes and instantly irritated the burnt skin on his face, feeling as if Russia was being scorched over and over. He tightened his grip on Lithuania's ankle, trying not to cry. Even crying, which was usually a comfort, would hurt him.

Russia could do nothing but stare straight ahead, but even that was uncomfortable. His eyes wouldn't focus, so when two figures approached, they just looked like big blurs. _Who were they? Would they help him? _When the figures got closer, Russia could see that one was wearing a blue uniform and the other was wearing red.

The boy in red spoke with a trembling voice that sounded distant and echoey. "L-lithuania? A-are you okay?"

Russia's eyes widened. _Lithuania? Why would that boy want to help Lithuania instead of me?_ The boy stepped closer, and Russia could see that he was one of his Baltics, Latvia.

A spasm of pain went through Russia's back and he yelled, eyes bulging. He involuntarily pulled Lithuania's leg closer to him. Lithuania stiffened and yelped, but Russia didn't notice. _Lithuania doesn't need any help. He's helping me right now._

Now the other figure - _Estonia_, Russia deduced, even though he looked like just a smear of blue, warily approached the two nations. "_Pask_," Estonia muttered, voice distant and faint just like Latvia's was. _Was there something wrong with Russia's ears?_

The Estonian spoke again, voice quavering. "L-lithuania, what...what's Russia doing to you?" The blurry figure that was Latvia hid behind Estonia's legs.

Lithuania took a deep breath to speak. But by now, Russia had it all figured out. _They want to take my Litva away from me!_

He had to stop them. If Lithuania went away, no one would be there for him - he would be left to suffer alone!

Russia lifted up an arm. _Hurts...so much pain..._He could smell his own burnt skin. He retched and gagged, holding his breath so not to breathe in his own stench. With his whole body quivering with the effort, Russia reached for Lithuania's long hair that was within his reach, just...barely…

His fingers closed around the soft strands of Lithuania's hair, and he pulled hard until Lithuania's ear was at his mouth level...that is, nearly all the way down to the floor. Completely disregarding the frightened look on the Baltic nation's face, he whispered the only words that he knew would let him have his Litva all to himself.

"If Estonia and Latvia don't go away, I will kill _you_ along with them."

* * *

Latvia had never been more exhausted in his life. He wasn't one for stressful situations, and the events of this evening had definitely taken a toll on his body. Any adrenaline that he had had earlier had worn off long ago, and Latvia now saw everything through a sleepy haze.

Blearily, Latvia followed Estonia over to where Russia was lying. For a moment, all he could see was Russia's injuries, which were worse than anything the Latvian had ever seen before. He felt sick.

Russia was barely moving, and his eyes were glazed and brimming with tears. Latvia suddenly felt a strange heaviness in his chest - sadness? Did he...feel sympathy for Russia?

_No, _Latvia reproached himself. _Why would I ever feel bad for Russia? _He was probably just tired.

Latvia looked over at Lithuania, forcing himself to ignore the Russian lying on the floor, but he definitely wasn't expecting Lithuania to look how he did. The Lithuanian looked, in a word, horrible. There was a stain on his shirt like he had vomited on himself, and he was shaking even more violently than Latvia ever had. Russia's hand clenched around his ankle.

Latvia shivered. "L-lithuania? A-are you okay?"

Lithuania didn't answer. But Estonia, who was staring fixedly at the two nations, walked nearer to take a closer look. "_Pask_," he said, looking concerned.

On the floor, Russia's other arm trembled and began to move upwards. Latvia's eyelids felt heavy, and he blinked repeatedly. _Don't fall asleep, stay awake! _

Estonia's face was drawn. He fiddled with his glasses. "L-lithuania, what...what's Russia doing to you?"

Russia looked panicked and furious, half-conscious as he was. His arm began to rise faster towards Lithuania's hair.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no! _Worst-case scenarios raced through Latvia's mind. He freaked out and ran to hide behind Estonia, shivering and shaking. _What was Russia going to do?_

Both Estonia and Latvia watched in stunned silence as Russia pulled Lithuania's head nearly all the way down to the floor. He murmured what sounded like threatening words into Lithuania's ear, and Lithuania's jaw dropped in shock.

Then, Lithuania straightened up and forced a smile onto his face. "I...just g-go away. I'm f-fine," he stammered, waving the Baltics away. Russia looked pleased.

Estonia narrowed his eyes. "D-damn, Lithuania, we all can see you're not f-fine!"

Lithuania's face was pale. "I-I am. Just...g-go." He knelt down and pretended to inspect the blisters on Russia's arm, but Latvia could see him trembling. Tears ran down the Lithuanian's face.

"L-lithuania-" Latvia began, but Estonia put an arm on his shoulder and steered him away.

"C-come on, Latvia, let's-" he hesitated. "Let's e-eat."

* * *

_**I know this is a really short chapter, but I just wanted to post this so you didn't have to wait any longer for me to update. :) Hopefully I'll be able to update again a lot faster, but I'm also writing another multi-chapter story, so I'm going to alternate between the two. **_

_**Translations:**_

_**Litva: Lithuania (Russian). **_

_**Pask: Sh*t (Estonian)**_

_**I hope everyone had a great New Year's, and reviews, follows, and favorites are greatly appreciated!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I'm so sorry for the long wait! I was overwhelmed with homework ever since school started up again, and also this chapter took longer to write than I thought it would. :)**_

* * *

Latvia blearily stumbled over to a chair and sat down, trembling. He couldn't think straight; disturbing thoughts raced non-stop through his mind. _What kind of things is Russia doing to Lithuania now? Will Toris be okay? Why didn't I say something to him when I had the chance?_ He whined and dropped his head down onto the table.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and the Latvian looked up, rubbing his heavy eyes. Estonia stood looking down at him, face lined. "Try to stay awake a bit longer, Latvia."

"But I'm s-so tired…" He propped his head up with his hands and blinked hard.

"Me too," said the Estonian. "Me too. But...we have to e-eat before we can sleep."

Latvia sighed. His stomach growled, and he felt sick with hunger along with his exhaustion. "What will we ea-"

His mind abruptly flashed back to the way Russia's hand had grabbed Lithuania's ankle, clenching it until Lithuania's face was distorted with pain. The way tears had run down the Lithuanian's face, and...the way he had said he was "_fine"._

Latvia shook his head in despair. _Why was he thinking about his stupid stomach when he should be more worried about Lithuania? Was he that selfish?_

Estonia must have noticed a sudden change in the young Baltic's expression, because he put his hand gently on Latvia's shoulder. "It's okay. S-stop worrying; there's nothing we could have done about it."

Latvia looked up at Estonia again, taking in his pale face and nervous eyes. "I-I-" All his built-up emotions from this horrible evening rose up inside him and came pouring out. "I _c-can't _s-stop!" he sobbed, hands grabbing at his hair. "I-I just want L-lithuania to be _o-okay!_" Tears rolled down his face.

The Estonian looked stricken for a moment, then patted his back comfortingly. "H-he'll be fine. You'll see - he a-always is."

_Is Estonia trying to convince himself, too? _Latvia took a deep, shuddering breath. "B-but he just d-doesn't _listen!_" he cried, sniffing. "And R-russia always h-hurts him, b-but he...he a-always...I-I just don't u-understand!"

Estonia's face fell. "I know, Latvia. I know." He rested his palms flat on the table. "W-what you need to understand is that Lithuania...a-always puts other people before himself."

Latvia looked up at Estonia with teary eyes. "Wh-what do you mean?"

The Estonian sighed. "He cares so much about helping others that he j-just completely disregards his own health. A-and he doesn't know…" He trailed off, looking worriedly down at his feet.

"D-doesn't know what?"

"Doesn't know that when he's hurt, it h-hurts us, too." Estonia let out a deep breath, then backed away from the table. "Alright, now it's time to eat. I'll go get some f-food, and-"

"W-wait," Latvia stammered out.

Estonia stopped and turned. "What?"

"D-don't go. I don't w-want to be a-alone." Latvia choked back a sob.

Estonia shook his head. "No, it's better for you to s-stay here. I'll be back soon, I promise."

"That's what L-lithuania said, a-and _he_ didn't c-come back!"

The Estonian frowned. "Look, Latvia, that doesn't have anything to do-"

"Y-yes, it _does_! W-why can't I go w-with you?"

"You...you just c-can't!" Estonia's face was red, and he looked nervously toward the food shelves on the other side of the room. "I...there's some things that you just d-don't need to see right now."

"Wh-what? I want to s-see! I w-want to know wh-what's going on!" Latvia's eyes were wide. He absolutely _hated _being left out of things!

Estonia balled his hands into fists. "N-no! I'll show you tomorrow, maybe, but not now!"

"But-" Latvia stammered. But Estonia had already turned away, walking purposefully towards the food shelves.

Latvia mournfully watched him leave, head overwhelmed with worry. All he could think of right then was his own exhaustion. He yawned and rested his head on his arms, adjusting his position in the chair.

_Wait- _Estonia's voice resonated in his head: _We have to eat before we sleep, Latvia!_ But Latvia sleepily stuck his tongue out at the imaginary Estonian. _Who cares, Mr. I-Have-A-Secret? I'm not even hungry anymore! _He shut his eyes, reveling in the dark blackness of his own mind. And before any worries or anxious thoughts could come to frighten him, Latvia fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Estonia walked away, fidgeting with the buttons on his shirt. _I was right not to tell Latvia about the food, right? He got so worried about Lithuania, this could send him over the edge! _He shivered; it had become cold in the little room. Estonia stuffed his hands in his pockets. _Oh, who am I kidding? I'll have to tell him eventually._

The Estonian sighed and approached the food shelves in trepidation. _Now, how to deal with this..._He took a jar off the shelf and inspected it carefully, turning it around in his hands. "_Peanut Butter", _it said in blocky Cyrillic letters. He put it back and picked up a small box: "_Crackers". _He shrugged; it wasn't much, but it would have to be dinner for tonight.

With the crackers in one hand and the peanut butter in another, Estonia hurried back to the table in time to see that Latvia had fallen asleep. _Pask_. He didn't want to wake the Latvian, but the young teen needed to eat eventually!

After hovering over the sleeping boy and debating for a moment whether to wake him, Estonia decided to let him sleep for a few more minutes. He opened up the cracker box and poured its contents out, frowning as he saw that only half the box was filled. "_Pask,"_ he cursed out loud. The peanut butter was nearly empty, too, because of those stupid Soviet food shortages.

_We're going to have to do some serious rationing,_ he thought with a sigh. After much consideration, he allotted seven crackers each to him and Latvia, then stuck his finger into the peanut butter - he hadn't found any eating utensils during his exploration earlier.

After spreading small amounts of peanut butter on every cracker, Estonia was left exhausted and hungry with a sticky finger. Stomach grumbling, he gobbled down his crackers in two seconds flat, then eyed Latvia's share greedily.

_Should I…? _he couldn't help thinking. He _was _hungry, and Latvia was asleep and would never know… His hand slowly moved towards the crackers, and Estonia's stomach rumbled louder. But then he spotted Lithuania in his peripheral vision, exhausted and unsteady on his feet, using the bottom of his shirt to soak up Russia's blood.

His face fell, and he scowled at the crackers. _What is wrong with you, Estonia?_ he reproached himself. _Why do you have to be so greedy? Just look at Lithuania, sacrificing himself for Russia, and _he _didn't get any food! _

Estonia stared down at his feet, exhausted and depressed. He rubbed his tired eyes and turned away from Latvia; the least he could do after nearly taking his food was let the boy sleep. He shuffled over to the bottom bunk bed closest to the wall, and pulled back the blankets to find a hard, dusty mattress waiting for him. Too tired to even care, Estonia lowered his weary body onto the bed.

And that's when he felt it: that familiar dry feeling at the back of his throat. The peanut butter had made him thirsty, and now he was going to have to get a drink of water.

He groaned and got up from the bed reluctantly, trying not to think about the daunting task ahead of him. For when one is in a fallout shelter after a nuclear explosion, finding water may be nearly impossible.

* * *

_**Translations:**_

_**Pask: Sh*t (Estonian)**_

_**Well, here I am ending this chapter with a cliffhanger! Next chapter is probably going to focus more on Lithuania and Russia's "situation". **_

_**Again, please review! Seeing new reviews in my inbox makes me smile. :)**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**I know I should be writing "Play on, Hetalia" now, but I really had a lot of inspiration for this chapter, so…here it is!**_

_**To explain some confusion, Russia is very delirious in this chapter, and he hallucinates/dreams that he's back in Leningrad moments before the nuclear bomb falls. That part will be in italics. Also, Leningrad = St. Petersburg. There will be some historical notes at the end, if you're still confused. :)**_

_**And now I'll answer the guest review! I'm so sorry that I haven't been answering these at all… :)**_

_**Guest: You're welcome! Yep, poor Toris and the other Baltics. They suffer a lot in my stories, it seems. :) Yeah, I guess Estonia was pretty analytical in that chapter. And Latvia really is oblivious. :) Anyways, I'm so glad you think my story is interesting! That makes me feel really happy. Thank you for all your nice reviews!**_

* * *

Tears streamed down Lithuania's face as he bent down over Russia, wiping up the blood and pus that trickled down the tall man's leg. The Russian's blisters had popped, creating a nasty, bloody liquid that smelled sick and rotten. Lithuania could do nothing but hold his breath and weep silently as he sponged up the blood with the only cloth he had: his own shirt.

The exhausted nation shakily stood up to wring out his shirt, moving deliberately so not to bother the half-conscious Russian. Black spots distorted his vision as he stood, and the Lithuanian swayed dizzily, reaching out for anything that could help him keep his balance. His legs quaked. The faint light from the flashlight seemed to dim even more, and objects began to fade from his vision.

Was he about to pass out? What...when was the last time he'd eaten? Images of his noon lunch swam in his vision: burnt borscht made by Latvia that he'd barely touched. _Oh no…_ He swayed again, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

If he passed out, what would happen to him? Would anyone know to come over and help? Latvia was probably sleeping, and Estonia couldn't come over because Russia - _oh no. _What would _Russia_ do to him?

He _couldn't _pass out, he just _couldn't_! Trembling violently, Lithuania forced himself to take deep breaths. The metallic scent of blood immediately filled his nose, and he gagged. _No, you can't throw up, either! _Woozily, he lowered himself down to the ground where he put his head between his knees. _Maybe this would help…_

After a few moments of trying to calm his nervous breathing, the dizzy feeling gradually faded, and Lithuania didn't feel as much like he was going to throw up anymore. He slowly lifted his head back up and let out a quavering sigh, hands worriedly pressed to his empty stomach. Just because he had stopped himself from fainting this one time didn't mean that it could happen again.

Russia's arm moved abruptly in his peripheral vision, and Lithuania's eyes flashed fearfully towards the Russian's bloody body, his sweaty face, his flushed cheeks...

_Something was seriously wrong._ With a trembling hand, Lithuania reached out to touch the Russian's forehead. It was burning hot. He moved away in a panic, heart pounding. The evidence was undeniable.

Russia...had a fever. And when a nation has a fever, it means something horrible has just happened.

* * *

Chills shook the Russian, and he shivered, trying in vain to soak up any warmth from his long, thick coat. He stared up with bleary eyes at his ever-faithful Lithuania, trying to get across the message that he was still in severe, biting pain...and that he was really, really, cold! He could feel the goosebumps popping up on his arms and legs, battling with his burn marks and blisters for space.

_Please help me, Lithuania~!_ _I'm hurt, and scared, and cold, and-_

And then, he felt burning hot, hotter than he ever had been before. His brow dripped sweat into his eyes, and the Russian, all wrapped up tightly in his coat, was in agony. He tried to move, to get away from this oppressing piece of clothing, but..._he couldn't!_

_He couldn't move. _With that realization, his eyes opened wide and darted towards Lithuania. _What's going on? Why...what's wrong with me?_

And then, right in front of his eyes, the room disintegrated around him.

* * *

_A surge of cold hit Russia immediately, and he quickly shielded his face against the rushing wind and snow with his arm. He stood like that for a moment, shivering, then he opened his eyes._

_He was standing on a street in Leningrad. _

_Russia gaped in surprise. How in the world did he get here? And...how was he able to move again? He stretched an arm experimentally, then his legs. To his astonishment, they all worked perfectly. And to make it even stranger, his injuries and pain had vanished, too! _

_Confused, Russia slowly wandered over to a small bakery. He was hungry for the first time in hours, so he thought he might as well eat now. As was often the Soviet norm, a long line of exhausted people stretched out of the store, and Russia joined the line, marveling at how normal the world seemed. Hadn't there just been a nuclear explosion?_

_A young teen with untidy blond hair stood ahead of him in line. He wore the usual Soviet schoolboy uniform, a dark blue suit and tie, and when Russia approached, he turned around with fear in his light violet eyes._

"Zdravstvuyte," _said Russia, smiling at the boy. _Hello_._

_The boy, legs quaking slightly, nodded his reply, and Russia surveyed the other ten or so people in the line, mostly just women bundled up in layers of clothing. A woman walked out of the store with a small loaf of bread in her hand, and the line moved up a bit. _

_Bored, Russia's eyes moved back to the boy. He was just standing there, trembling, a small string bag clutched in his hand. The boy looked awfully familiar for some reason, and kind of reminded Russia of someone he knew...but who? He ran through a list of names in his head, trying to match any of them up with this face._

_And that's when the sirens began to blare. The people in the line looked at each other in shock, then one of them screamed, "Quick! Get inside the store!"_

_There was a mad rush towards the bakery as every person out on the street scrambled for safety. Russia just stood there in confusion, watching everyone run. He caught snippets of sentences like "nuclear bomb", "run", and "fallout shelter", but when he tried to move, he couldn't. _Why couldn't he move?

_The boy started to run, then tripped over a woman's foot, falling hard onto the frozen sidewalk. Tears filled his eyes, and he looked back at Russia helplessly. Russia tried in vain to reach an arm out to help the boy, but it wouldn't budge. All he could do was stand there and watch a small shadow in the sky that was getting bigger and bigger and bigger…_

_There was a blinding flash, then a mix of fire, noise, and heat. The sky itself seemed to catch on fire, and Russia was blown backwards like a leaf onto his back. Looking up in horror, he managed to just roll out of the way before the bakery collapsed, rubble falling everywhere._

_People screamed. A woman vanished, leaving an ashen shadow burned onto a half-collapsed wall in her place. People's clothing and skin sizzled in a fiery inferno, and barely recognizable bodies littered the ground._

_A scream came from under a mass of dead bodies, and Russia's eyes moved toward the sound. He only caught one glimpse of the violet-eyed boy before the whole street erupted in flames…_

_And right before everything turned black, Russia realized who the boy reminded him of:_

_Latvia._

* * *

Russia thrashed about on the ground in the fallout shelter, eyes rolled up into his head. "_Nyet_!" he screeched, sweat pouring down his face. "_Nyeeet_!"

Lithuania stumbled unsteadily away from the screaming Russian, head fuzzy with dizziness. _Russia is delirious_, he told himself, _and I have to do something! _Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, the Lithuanian took a deep, shuddering breath.

He would have to get help, or else Russia wouldn't survive.

* * *

_**Hehe, this was a pretty intense chapter! (Of course, this whole story is intense, but anyways…) So to explain more, Russia was hallucinating that he was in Leningrad because his fever was so high. There also was some foreshadowing...but the thing that I foreshadowed isn't going to happen for a while in the story. :)**_

_**So why does Russia have a fever? You'll find out in a chapter or two!**_

_**Translations:**_

_**Zdravstvuyte: Hello (Russian)**_

_**Nyet: No (Russian)**_

_**Historical Notes**_

_**St. Petersburg is called Leningrad because, firstly, the Russians renamed the city Petrograd during WWI because St. Petersburg sounded too German, and the Germans were the enemy then. They changed it to Leningrad in 1924 to honor Lenin.**_

_**From time to time in the Soviet Union, lines of people sometimes stretched out of stores. This generally happened when the Soviet collective system of agriculture was doing badly; the system was meticulously planned out without much leeway for bad weather or the land's producing capabilities, so items were sometimes out of stock. If you wanted certain types of food during one of these times, you would have to line up at a store early in the morning and wait in long lines. [EDIT: Thanks to **_**_47Zhou-Yu74 for pointing out the inaccuracies in this historical note. They are now fixed.] :)_**

_**Stores didn't supply bags, so you would have to bring your own bag with you. That's why the boy who looked like Latvia had a string bag with him.**_

_**I got most of my information from the website "englishrussia dot com", from an article called "Soviet Reality That Seems Never Existed." That article has pictures of Soviet stores and school uniforms, and it might help you visualize this chapter better. :)**_

_**Please don't forget to review!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Today, February 24th, is Estonia's birthday! And to celebrate, this chapter will mostly be in his point of view. :)**_

* * *

The water tank was large, red, and hung almost precariously from the ceiling. Skinny pipes ran into it, supposedly meant to fill the tank with water from the world above. But there must have been something seriously wrong with the world above, because no water was coming out, no matter how hard Estonia banged on the pipes.

_There was a nuclear explosion, you idiot,_ Estonia reminded himself, stepping down off the rickety chair he had been standing on. His whole body ached - arms, legs, head - and his eyes just didn't seem to focus. Sighing, the Estonian sat down on the chair to rest, head fuzzy with exhaustion._It's no use trying anymore. Water's not going to just magically appear in the tank, you know. _

With a groan, Estonia put his head in his hands. _It's just that I'm so useless! We're all going to die from lack of water, and it's all my fault! Maybe if I were just a little stronger...maybe if I kept trying again and again until it worked..._He stared blearily up at the pipes; if he hadn't been so worn out, he would have glared at them.

_Oh, who am I kidding? I'm no help to anyone. I can't take care of Russia, I can't get water...hell, I can't even tell Latvia that there's not enough food. I'm just weak little Estonia, who knows too much about how things work but can never do them._

A chill swept through the room, and Estonia burrowed into himself, trying in vain to stay warm. He was starting to feel the beginnings of a headache, and his exhaustion was nearly unbearable. It was no wonder that he then began to weep, shoulders shaking with the force of his muted cries.

He cried for who knows how long, then the sound of padding feet approached him. Caught up in his misery, Estonia didn't even notice until a person lightly tapped his shoulder. "E-estonia? Are you okay?"

Estonia looked up, frowning. Latvia stood in front of him, face creased from sleeping at the table, eyes wide with concern. "A-are you okay?" the boy asked again. "I woke up and heard you c-crying."

"I…" Estonia began. _Should I tell him how I feel? Or should I fake happiness? Nah_, _I could never fake happiness well enough to fool Latvia. Only Lithuania's able to do that. "_I'm...n-not okay," he finally said, looking tentatively up at Latvia to see his reaction.

The Latvian nodded. "I'm n-not okay, either." He crept closer, pale face shadowed in the faint light of the flashlight. "E-estonia, I'm s-scared. I d-don't know what's going to happen to us!"

Estonia sighed. "Neither do I, Latvia. I don't think anyone knows."

Latvia let out a long, quavering breath and stared down at his feet. "Are we all...g-going to die?" he asked after a while.

"Well, I hope not, Latvia! But..." Estonia's eyes traveled up to the water tank, and his voice trailed off.

Latvia's gaze moved to the tank, too. "W-what is that?"

"That? It's a water tank."

The Latvian squinted his eyes. "Is there any water in there?"

Estonia frowned. "Ah, I don't know…" His shoulders slumped. "I was trying to see if any would come out if I banged on it, but that didn't seem to work."

"So...you m-mean there's no water?" Latvia's voice trembled. "Then how will...how will we-"

_How will we survive? _"I…I don't know! We'll just...have to wait and see if any comes out."

The Latvian furrowed his eyebrows in worry, voice becoming more high-pitched. "But...we need water, E-estonia!"

Estonia scrunched up his face, mentally cursing this boy for stating the obvious. "I _know_, Latvia! Don't you think I _know_? We'll just have to-" His voice faded off suddenly, and the Estonian stared fixedly at something over his shoulder.

Latvia's fearful gaze shot up to meet Estonia's. "E-estonia? What happened?"

"Shh, just look!" Estonia raised a trembling finger to point in the direction of Russia. The large nation writhed around on the floor, moaning and screeching unintelligible words.

Latvia opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it, for Lithuania was now running jerkily towards him and Estonia with a strange glazed look in his eyes.

"F-fever…" the Lithuanian panted, coming to a clumsy stop right in front of Latvia. "R-russia has...a fever! C-come quick!"

* * *

Russia opened his eyes, mind reeling. The fallout shelter was blurry and tilted at a weird angle, and a bright light shone onto his face. Snapping his eyes shut in pain, Russia's foggy mind scrambled to make sense of what he had just seen. _What was that...a dream? A hallucination? Was that...what really happened to my country?_

Murmuring voices became barely audible through the incessant ringing of his ears.

"...He's stopped screaming," said one. "A-and his legs aren't twitching anymore."

"W-what do you th-think is wrong with h-him?" asked another.

Russia heard a muffled _thump_, as if someone had kneeled down onto the floor. A cold hand tentatively touched his forehead. "I...don't know for sure," said a different voice, "but I think I know what it means when a nation...has a f-fever."

_What? What does it mean when I have a fever? _Russia tried to speak, but could just barely open his mouth before..._he couldn't move again! _The ringing in his ears got louder, nearly covering up someone's trembling voice. "M-move back! H-he's starting to-"

_And then the room vanished again, before Russia could even react. Blurry images swirled around him; glimpses of snowy Moscow and the Kremlin, soldiers standing at attention, and Russia's leader: a bald, fat man by the name of Khrushchev._

_Russia's head pounded with a splitting headache as the images began to spin faster and faster, rushing past him before he could even register what he was seeing. A dull rumble rose up from the ground, and the whole city of Moscow vibrated and shook. _

What is this? What's happening?_ Russia felt as if he was going to split apart, like some small part of him was about to break away._

_And then the Kremlin collapsed. The red brick building crumbled to the ground in a dusty crash, and people screamed, running away from the building in a panicked frenzy. "Earthquake! Earthquake!" someone yelled, adding to the frantic chaos as people rushed away in fear. Russia could see all the people in the Soviet government fall from the Kremlin along with the rubble, dead before they even hit the ground. _

_He swayed, black dots enveloping his vision. The rumbling faded to a dull roar, the vibration slowed, then everything went black._

* * *

"He...he's unconscious," Estonia said, voice quavering. He walked over on shaky legs to peer blearily down at the pale and sweaty Russian.

Latvia's trembling voice rang out into the cold room. "Wh-what happened to him?"

Estonia's face was almost as ashen as Russia's, and he mumbled wearily, "S-something must have destroyed his government. That's w-why...he has a fever."

Lithuania stiffened. "I-is he going to be okay?" he asked, swaying unsteadily on his feet.

"I-I don't know," said Estonia. "No one really knows for sure what happens to a nation when their government is destroyed."

"W-will he die?" Lithuania's voice was urgent.

Estonia shot Lithuania a strange look. "He could die...or he'll just lose all connection with his people and go insane. I really don't know." He rubbed his eyes with his hands. "I...just wish we could all get out of this hellhole alive."

"D-don't you think we will?" asked Latvia, legs shaking violently underneath him.

Tears formed in Estonia's eyes. "I...don't know anymore," he said, shaking his head. "I just d-don't know." He turned away from Latvia, trying his best to keep himself from breaking down and sobbing right there. _Please,_ he thought as his gaze drifted up to the water tank, his vision so blurred with tears that the red paint on the tank looked like streaks of blood. _Please_ _work so we all won't die._

* * *

_**So sad… Anyways, to explain this more, when a nation has a fever, it means something horrible has happened to their government. In Russia's case, vibrations from the nuclear bomb triggered an earthquake in Moscow, which destroyed the Kremlin. Since the Kremlin is where the Soviet government works, all the people in Russia's government died. You're probably going to find out how this affects Russia in a chapter or two. :)**_

_**Please review! **_


	8. Chapter 8

_**So I finally updated for the first time in nearly three months! I hope you enjoy this somewhat intense chapter. :)**_

* * *

Latvia stared numbly down at the ground, mind racing from all that had just happened. _E-everything just seems to be falling apart!_ He wrung his hands, fingers trembling slightly. _The water's not working, Russia's unconscious, and…_

"H-hey, Lithuania, can I talk to you for a second?" Estonia's fatigued voice rang out through the bomb shelter, and Latvia glanced up in surprise.

"W-what do you want to talk about with Lithuania?" he asked, voice unsteady.

"Ah, you don't need to hear about this right now, okay?" Estonia pushed up his glasses, looking away uncomfortably at Latvia's betrayed expression. "I...I don't want to make you more nervous than you already are."

"_N-nervous?_" Latvia's whole body quivered. "I...I just want to know what's going on! I n-need to know!"

Estonia sighed. "I'm sorry, alright? Really, I am." He turned away, hands clenched into trembling fists. "I-I just can't talk about this with you right now."

"B-but-" Latvia began, voice rising in intensity. _Why can't Estonia tell me what's going on? D-does he think I'm too young to hear? _He took a shaky step towards the Estonian, reaching out a hand to stop him from walking away. "Estonia-?"

"I said _no, _Latvia!" Estonia yelled. "Just...just _go away_!" Taking a deep breath, he pushed Latvia roughly away from him, muscles straining with the force of the blow .

The Latvian toppled backward and landed hard on his back, unable to breathe for a single, terrifying moment. Tears clouded his vision, and he blinked up at Estonia's blurry face staring down at him. "E-estonia…?" he whimpered.

Estonia looked stunned. "Oh no, Latvia!" He ran his fingers through his hair, face ghostly pale. "W-what have I done?"

* * *

_W-what have I done? _Estonia's heart raced. _I didn't mean to push Latvia, not at all! I...I guess I just lost control of myself and took it out on Latvia...but I didn't mean to! I would never mean to!_

"I-I'm sorry, Latvia, I didn't-" Estonia frantically tried to apologize, but Latvia only backed away from him, eyes wide with fear. When Estonia tried to reach out a hand to help him up, the boy only whimpered.

"D-don't get near me, please!"

Estonia's breath hitched, and he was unable to believe his ears. _He's...he's acting like I'm _Russia _or something! _Suddenly, Estonia was unable to stand there for another minute. Head spinning, he turned and ran to the other side of the room towards Lithuania.

_Lithuania will make it better,_ Estonia desperately told himself, feeling the beginnings of a headache as he raced over to where Lithuania half-leaned against a wall. _He always puts our burdens on himself, so Latvia and I never have to worry. He'll deal with this and the food situation, I know he will!_

Finally reaching the back wall of the fallout shelter, Estonia slowed down to catch his breath. Lithuania was leaning unsteadily against the cinderblock wall as if it was the only thing supporting his weight, and his eyes looked dim and glazed.

"E-estonia?" Lithuania asked, voice almost inaudible. He blinked up at the Estonian as if seeing him for the first time.

Estonia approached Lithuania slowly, sweat pouring down the blond Baltic's haggard face. "Lithuania," he said, half-gasping. "I need your help_. Now._"

* * *

Staring up at the steadily approaching Estonian, Lithuania fought to stay conscious. The room blurred around him, and his stomach felt empty and hollow. His upper back pressed against the cold, hard wall where he had unsteadily wandered after Russia had blacked out.

"W-what…?" Lithuania's voice trembled, and he felt even more light-headed than he had earlier.

Estonia moved closer, placing his sweaty hands against the wall on either side of Lithuania's head. His insistent gaze seemed to pierce into the Lithuanian's eyes.

"I...I don't know what to do," Estonia said almost desperately. "There's no food, no water..."

Lithuania's eyebrows furrowed. He struggled to get his scattered thoughts together and focus on what Estonia was saying, but the Baltic's words seemed muffled and nearly unrecognizable. "No...what?"

"Haven't you heard?" Estonia's voice was louder now. "Don't you know? There's not enough food to last us until the radiation levels go down!"

Lithuania stared up at Estonia in shock. _W-what?_ He tried to reply, to say _anything,_ but he suddenly felt sick and exhausted. A dull pain went through his stomach, and he stifled a whimper. _Please don't throw up, please don't throw up, please don't throw up..._

"Are you listening?" Estonia grabbed Lithuania's shoulders firmly, causing the older Baltic's breath to catch in his throat. Lithuania's vision blurred and his stomach sloshed even more. _O Dieve mano_, _what's wrong with me? Why do I feel like this?_

Estonia began to speak again with more intensity this time, but Lithuania could no longer make any sense of it. He tried to focus on the Estonian's urgent words, but quickly became distracted by something trickling from the ceiling a few feet away from him. What...was that _liquid?_

_Trickling liquid. _Lithuania's ears began to ring...or was he hearing little splashing noises? His eyes shot up to meet Estonia's desperate gaze. _Am I hallucinating? How long has it been since I've last eaten or drank? _

Estonia's grip on Lithuania's shoulders tightened. "Toris! You need to focus on this! It's not just that there's not enough food; there's no water either! We're going to _die _soon if we can't do something about it!"

Lithuania didn't even bother trying to respond this time. Black spots had popped up in front of his eyes, and he stared at the liquid trickling from the ceiling as if hypnotized. He started to sway a little to the left, but was jostled out of his trance when Estonia began roughly shaking him.

"Lithuania! Listen. To. Me!" Estonia's gaze was steely as he shook Lithuania by the shoulders like a rag doll, the older Baltic's head wobbling back and forth with the sudden movement. "Why aren't you responding? It's like...like you don't care about us!"

"I-I ca-a-an't…" Lithuania's feeble attempts to speak were garbled as Estonia shook him harder. _I-I'm so weak...I can't even talk..._

"You don't care about me or Latvia. Hell, it's almost like you care more about _Russia _than you do us!" Estonia was yelling now, face red with exertion. "Just look at you, you've wasted all your energy caring for Russia. What about us, huh?" Estonia gave the older Baltic a threatening glare. "_What about us?"_

Lithuania felt himself getting weaker; he could feel his consciousness slipping. "_Aš...prašom-" _he tried to say, slipping into Lithuanian as the words tumbled clumsily out of his mouth. _I'm exhausted; I can't do this anymore! _His legs collapsed beneath him, and he sank to the floor with a defeated sigh. "_E-estija…"_

* * *

"_E-estija…" _At the sound of his name, Estonia froze, staring in horror at the half-conscious Lithuanian slumped down on the floor. His heart thumped in his chest, and his sweaty hands clenched until his knuckles turned white.

_What have I done? What the hell's wrong with me? First Latvia and now this? _He turned away with his face in his hands, just barely holding back a loud whimper. _I...I'm a monster. A complete monster._

He wanted to scream. He _had _to scream. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth wide,turning his head toward the ceiling so he wouldn't have to look at Lithuania.

And that's when he saw the water.

Clear, precious water dripped steadily out of the pipes, making a melodious splashing sound as it reached the floor. Estonia sucked in a trembling breath. _W-water...it can't be! Not after all this…_

With a shuddering cry, he rushed unsteadily over to the chair that he had stood on earlier. Without any regard for dignity or composure, he collapsed down onto the chair and began to sob hysterically, his contradicting emotions of self-contempt and relief mixing together into bittersweet tears.

* * *

_**So...that was pretty intense! I really wasn't expecting Estonia to do most of the things he did; I think I'm losing control of him, haha. **_

_**Anyways, thank you so much to the people who followed and reviewed this even when I haven't updated for a while! All of you inspired me to keep writing and not procrastinate any longer, and it'll really make me happy if you keep reviewing! Hopefully I'll update more quickly next time. :)**_

_**Translations:**_

_**O Dieve mano: Oh my god (Lithuanian)**_

_**Aš...prašom: I...please (Lithuanian)**_

_**Estija: Estonia (Lithuanian)**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Here I am with yet another late update! *cries* However, this is by far my longest chapter yet, so hopefully that will make up for the long wait. :) **_

_**Also, just so you won't be confused by this, I have a headcanon that when a nation's government is completely destroyed (like when Russia's Kremlin collapsed), that nation becomes disconnected from their citizens. I think that most nations can feel the presence of their citizens in their head, and their presence keeps the nations relatively sane and human-like even in extreme times, so...when a nation is disconnected from their citizens, well...nearly anything could happen. ;)**_

_**Also, today, August 23, 2015, is the 26th anniversary of the Baltic Way! Long live Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia!**_

* * *

"Oh no, Latvia, what have I done?" said Estonia, face drawn, extending a trembling hand out towards the young boy lying on the floor.

Latvia sucked in a breath. _Is he going to hurt me again? _"D-don't get near me, please!" He desperately moved backwards, body sore and aching. Though his eyes were watery with pain, he could still see Estonia freeze in horror, then turn and flee. Latvia felt the vibrations from the Estonian's frantic footsteps through the cold, hard floor.

_O-ow...hurts..._Latvia grimaced, whimpering as he gingerly attempted to sit up. His back throbbed with a dull ache, and the Latvian knew he must have bruises from being so violently pushed to the ground. _Why did Estonia do that? W-what did I ever do to him? _He rubbed his tired eyes and stifled a sob, exhausted and unsettled.

He heard a quiet thump a few feet away from him and he slowly turned towards it, breath catching in his throat. _Is Estonia coming back to apologize?_

_Nope. _Instead, Latvia found himself face-to-face with Russia.

"Eek-!" Latvia began to yelp, but was stunned into silence by the large nation's appearance. The Russian was still unconscious, eyes rolled back in his head and mouth open slightly. His head had turned towards the Latvian, and his unseeing eyes bored into Latvia's with such intensity that the young teen didn't dare move.

Like a snake, one of Russia's arms moved towards the Latvian, traveling along the dirty floor until stopping only a few inches from his leg. Latvia's eyes grew wide as the Russian's bloody fingers wiggled, then stretched towards him.

"A-ah…" Latvia breathed, staring at the hand in horror. Burned and battered, Russia's fingers stuck out at weird angles, almost reminiscent to the way Lithuania's fingers had looked after Belarus had broken them decades ago. Latvia shuddered, and, as if suddenly struck by the full terror of the situation, he leaped up, heart pounding in his chest. _This is scary! I-I've got to get away from here!_

Sucking in narrow, tremulous breaths, Latvia raced away from where he had been sitting and made a beeline to the nearest hiding spot - the table in the center of the room. Lifting the tablecloth in a panic, he slipped underneath and huddled by one of the table legs, mind racing. _W-what the heck did I just see? What's going on with Russia?_

Panting and trying in vain to slow his trembling hands, Latvia replayed what had just happened over and over in his mind, struggling to make sense of it all. He was just musing that the nuclear bomb must have had something to do with it when an frantic, urgent voice caught his attention. _Who's that...Estonia?_

* * *

Latvia cautiously peeked out from underneath the table, heart pounding in his chest. His nervous gaze landed on two shadowy figures; one shouting and shaking the other by the shoulders, the other struggling to keep his balance. It took a moment for the full impact of the scene to hit the Latvian, but when it did, the young Baltic couldn't help but to let out a soft yelp.

_E-estonia...what's he doing to Lithuania? Why's he yelling at him like that? _A cold shiver went through Latvia's spine, and he began to tremble. Estonia's posture, his frenzied voice, the frantic way he shook Lithuania back and forth…it all seemed way too familiar to Latvia for some reason. _Has something like this happened before?_

Suddenly, images of Russia began to flood Latvia's mind; images of Russia yelling at Lithuania, shaking him, beating him…In a flash, Latvia covered his eyes with his hands, choking back tears of fright. _N-no! Estonia's not acting like Russia...is he? _He moved back under the table, whole body trembling. _This can't be! He would never act like that! _

Latvia took in a quavering breath and rubbed his exhausted eyes with his hands, thinking of how Estonia had pushed him to the ground just minutes earlier. He shuddered, curling in on himself. _This...this can't be!_

And then he heard Estonia yell, his voice echoing throughout the bomb shelter, something...something about _no food?_

Sitting up in a rush, Latvia frantically stuck his head out from under the table again, the tablecloth nearly covering his eyes as it draped over his head. Mind racing with worst-case scenarios, he just barely caught Estonia, his angry, red face uncomfortably close to Lithuania's pale one, shouting again:

"It's not that just there's not enough food; there's no water either!" Estonia shook Lithuania harder, until even Latvia could tell that the Lithuanian was barely able to stand. The older Baltic's head wobbled as he struggled to speak, only be interrupted by Estonia adding, "We're going to _die _soon if we can't do something about it!"

Latvia's jaw dropped, and he let out a startled gasp. _N-not...not enough food? We're going to _die _soon? _Fear hit the Latvian in a flash, and the young Baltic began to hyperventilate, breathing faster and faster through his nose. _I...this can't be true! Estonia would've told me if there wasn't enough food! He definitely would've! Or... _a shiver shot down Latvia's spine as a terrible thought entered his head - _maybe he didn't want to?_

The young Baltic's stomach began to ache with worry. _Estonia _has _been keeping a secret from me...maybe this is it? He acts weird every time the subject of food comes up, and he didn't want me to go with him to the food shelves, or talk with Lithuania about the fallout shelter..._Latvia put his head in his hands in a panic, breathing heavily. No matter how hard he tried to prove himself wrong, all the evidence pointed to the same thing: _No food or water!_ _There's really not enough food or water; and we're all going to die; all of us are going to die in this scary little room with no happiness or peace of mind ever again!_

A small whimper escaped his lips, and the exhausted Latvia curled up in a ball, eyes dripping with tears. _We're all going to die...we're all going to die...I won't ever see the outdoors again, or snow, or rain, and...and life will never get better; I'll never know life outside of this horrible captivity in an insane man's house... _He let out a tired sob, eyes shutting on their own accord. Nestling his head in his arms, he tried to ignore the coldness of the room...or was that the cold feeling of hopelessness that rushed through his body? _I don't want to die! I don't want to die here!...I-I need to see my country one last time! I need to see my people again - the citizens of Latvia! Oh, please, no, no..._

Mind overwhelmed with exhaustion and sadness, the young Latvian fell into the blackness of a deep, yet troubled, sleep. As he slept, he did not see Lithuania collapse, crumpling to the floor with one last, "_E-estija…"_. He did not hear Estonia's mournful cry as the blond Baltic saw the damage he had done to his fellow nation, or the splashing of water falling from the tank on the ceiling.

And he definitely did not hear Russia let out a shuddering sigh of loss, unconscious as the large nation was, chest rising and falling with the motions of his quiet sobs.

* * *

Russia saw only blackness for the longest time; claustrophobic, desolate blackness that surrounded him for as far as he could see. And then-

_He fell down, down, down as if someone had forcibly pushed him. Screaming in fear and confusion, he fell through what seemed to be a wind tunnel for ages upon ages until he landed with a bump on a cold, marble floor. The panicky chatter of hundreds of people immediately washed over him as Russia gingerly opened his eyes. _Wh-where am I? What's going on?

_Pushing himself up to a sitting position, Russia nervously looked around, wary of what he would find. He blearily gazed at the beautiful marble columns lining the walls, the exquisite chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and the crowds of people swarming through the long, tunnel-like room..._

The Leningrad metro, _his cloudy mind finally realized. _I'm in the metro. But..._something about this place didn't feel quite right. _Why doesn't it feel right?

_Russia felt someone tugging on his arm, and he turned around in a rush, eyes widening as he saw the disheveled-looking girl who stood in front of him. Her school uniform - a black dress with a lacy white apron - was wrinkled, and her white stockings were ripped and brown with dirt. It seemed as if she had rushed out of school towards the metro, falling down multiple times in her haste. _But why would a schoolgirl run away from school? _Russia wondered, narrowing his eyes. _Did...did something happen? _He tried to remember a catastrophe, something terrible that would've caused this little girl to run to the metro in such a hurry, but his mind was blank; he couldn't remember anything that had happened before the past five minutes. An eerie chill swept through his spine, and Russia shivered involuntarily._

"_E-excuse me, Comrade?" The girl stuttered out, practically trembling. Her eyes were wide with fear, and tears streaked her cheeks."D-do you know where my _babushka _is? She was supposed to meet me at our a-apartment after school, but then..." The girl sniffed, then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Russia looked closely at the girl, who seemed like she would start crying again at any moment._

"_Ah, what-" Russia cleared his throat. For some reason, his mouth tasted like soot and burned meat. A baby cried in the distance, and a woman's voice, quavering and slightly out of tune, began to sing to the baby. _Uletay na kril'jach vetra, ty v kraj rodnoj...

_The girl coughed, a dry cough that was obviously holding back more tears, and Russia started. How long had he been staring into space? "Wh...what does your _babushka _look like?" he hurriedly asked._

"_W-well, she's sh-shorter than you, and has gray hair, but she usually covers it with a scarf, and-"_

_While the girl spoke, Russia felt his mind began to wander. A strange cold feeling began to move through him, starting in his legs and moving up to his stomach, chest, neck…_

_The girl had bright blue eyes that were filled with tears, making them seem distorted and larger than normal. The pupils were contracted from the eerie light that filled the metro, but now, right in front of Russia's eyes, they grew bigger..._

"_A-are you okay?" The girl had stopped talking and was now peering intently at the Russian, who was staring fixedly at the child's eyes. _

"_Strange,"_ _Russia thought. Or had he spoken out loud? He couldn't tell the difference anymore. All he saw were the girl's pupils, which had now expanded to form an almost cloud-like shape, the blackness billowing out into something that closely resembled a mushroom-shaped cloud…_

This isn't natural, _said Russia. Or had he thought that? He didn't even know. The girl opened her mouth to say something else, but-_

Pain! Burns! Bomb! Bomb! Bomb! _Images flooded through Russia's mind, causing the large man to sway and yelp in shock. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to drown out the agonizing images, but they only became brighter. Buildings collapsing. Babies and little children burning to ash in front of Russia's very eyes, people running helter-skelter towards entrances to metro stations, knowledgeable of the fact that only those deep tunnels would offer protection from the ensuing storm... His own leader, Khrushchev, falling to his death from the disintegrating Kremlin, and the rest of his trusted government members, those who controlled Russia's every political move with the best interests of the USSR firmly in mind, falling out after him... And then, the same image he had seen in the little girl's eyes: the humongous mushroom cloud, billowing out over Leningrad, destroying all life within hundreds of meters of the explosion. _

_Screams flooded his ears. Whose screams were those? Were they the screams of the dying? Screams of the wounded? His own screams?_

_He opened his eyes in a panic to find the girl staring at him, mouth open in shock. She was saying something, but Russia couldn't hear her._

_The girl began to fade from Russia's eyes, and her voice became muffled, as if coming from a long distance away. Russia's heart pounded as he struggled to focus. _What is this? What's going on? _He blinked twice, and the girl became clear again._

_A man walked up to the girl: obviously some Communist big-shot, wearing military medals on his fancy shirt and holding a bag of gas masks in his hand. Russia chuckled to see a large dirt stain on the pompous man's pants, but the chuckling soon turned into gagging. His mouth tasted like burnt flesh._

"_Here," said the man to the girl, "You have to take one of these." He handed her a gas mask, and she clutched it desperately, still staring open-mouthed at Russia. The man turned in Russia's direction with a confused look on his face. "What are you looking at?"_

_Russia never heard the girl's answer. Instead, what he heard was a deep rushing sound in his ears, reminiscent to a violent ocean or a downpouring of rain. Black spots attacked his vision for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day, and Russia braced himself for the all-too-familiar feeling of falling backwards into unconsciousness._

_But he didn't black out. Instead, the image of his leader's fall to death emerged in his mind again, gradually becoming brighter and more defined until Russia could barely see past it. A voice - but who's voice? - whispered to Russia, its high-pitched tones causing the Russian man to flinch and clench his hands together in desperation. "You'll never sssee your citizensss again…"_

_Russia's eyes widened. "Wh-what do you mean…?" he whispered. But no one answered. Instead, the image - memory? - of Khrushchev and other Soviet officials falling to the ground with a _plop _faded in his mind, until Russia could see the metro and all the people in it clearly again._

_The girl had left; she had most likely wandered off to look for her _babushka. _Russia briefly wondered if she would ever find her, then shook his head. A happy ending was hardly likely after a nuclear explosion._

_A piercing headache suddenly attacked Russia, and he cried out in pain, his hands flying to meet the searing agony that pulsed through his skull. _N-nyet! _His pained gasps, once fast and frantic, turned raspy, and a dull ache formed in his chest. Trying his best to remain upright, he stumbled around, trying to find a place to sit where it wasn't so crowded, though he faintly recognized that there wouldn't be enough time to reach one before his inevitable collapse. _

"_O-ohhhh…" The pain moved down into his stomach, and Russia doubled over with a groan, head low to the ground. _P-please let this be over..._he blearily thought, feeling his throat fill up with bile that threatened to overflow onto the floor in a splattery mess._

_The nausea passed, and while it threatened to come back, he was able to stand upright again for the moment. Upon regaining his unsteady stance, however, Russia found that the metro had changed considerably. While all the marble columns, exquisite chandeliers, and impeccable tiled floor were still clear in his sight, the panicked crowds of people had faded: some to pale, muffled colors, and others becoming nearly translucent._

They look like fog, _Russia thought, trying to ignore the pulsating pain in his head and focus on the world around him. _That old man...over there, with the old tattered jacket...he's like fog. He doesn't look real. _Russia took in a gasping breath, for his nausea had just returned and his headache was even worse. _That dark-haired boy with the red Young Pioneers scarf...he's fog, too. Blurry and translucent. What...what's wrong with me? Why am I seeing this?

_A racking pain swept through Russia's head, and he stumbled, toppling forward. The cold metro floor flew up to meet Russia's unsuspecting face, and the resulting crash introduced a new pain into his body - that of broken teeth and split lips. Russia had no more energy left to groan now. His face was pressed down into the floor, and something really...strange was happening to his vision. The people around him - _his _people; the Russian people - they turned fuzzy, flickered once, then…_

They all vanished. _Russia's eyes were aching from the strain of looking up from his vantage point on the floor, yet even when he blinked a couple of times and gingerly shifted his position, there was no doubt about what he had just seen. The surrounding metro station was completely intact and bright, but the people who had packed the room...were no more._

What is this? What is this? _Russia's breath sped up, his frantic panting irritating his split lip and causing the tile floor to fog up under his face. His citizens...had just _vanished. This is bad! What is happening? _He reached out in a futile attempt to bring his people back, to bring them towards him and reality itself. But nothing happened. Instead, Russia heard a low buzzing in his ears, and the world around him began to turn black. With a grunt, he fought to keep his consciousness. _N-no, I-I have to save my people! I...I need my citizens! Without them...who am I? Who is Russia?

_With one last sob of despair, Russia reached out one last, desperate time in the direction where his Russian people had just stood, but...it was all in vain. Suddenly, as if someone had just switched off the lights and sounds of the world, Russia's eyes closed and a muffling, overwhelming blackness overtook his vision._

_And as the world fell away from him, Russia heard a single voice, singing a haunting, beautiful melody:_

"Uletay na kril'jach vetra, ty v kraj rodnoj, rodnaja pesnya nasha,

Tuda gde my tebya svobodno peli, gde bylo tak privol'no nam s toboju."

_Fly away on wings of wind, to native lands, our native song,_

_To the land where we can sing you freely, where it was so carefree for you and me._

* * *

_**First of all, if you haven't figured this out by now, that song is where the title of this fanfiction comes from! The song is from an opera by Russian composer Alexander Borodin, and it is very well-known and well-liked both in Russia and the rest of the world. The name of the song is "Polovtsian Dances"; look it up, it's extremely beautiful! **_

_**So, to explain the hallucination a bit more, understand that Russia's citizens did not really disappear from the metro. xD It only seems to Russia that they disappeared because this was his hallucination, and their disappearance is supposed to symbolize Russia becoming disconnected from his citizens. Now, he will not have a "human" side anymore, nor a government to guide him, so...look out! He just might turn insane… ;)**_

_**Historical Notes:**_

_**Metro stations used as fallout shelters - During the Cold War, there was a very real threat of nuclear war, so Soviet city planners designed metro stations that were very deep underground so that if a nuclear explosion did happen, people would just have to go down into the metro to stay safe instead of having to build bomb shelters themselves, like in the US.**_

_**A big thank you to the wonderful people who reviewed chapter 8: Shadows in the Light of Day, Typewriting Fangirl, Coffee and Sunshine, PioneeringAuthor, PRAUS, Tomoshibi-Chan, Mely-Val, Hannah, 47Zhou-Yu74, Summer Leigh Wind, and Slippery Tummy. Your reviews really mean a lot to me, and I hope you still will stick with this story even though I update slowly! :)**_

_**Please review! :)**_


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